Hideout in Another World: I Tried Building a Secret Base in the Middle of Nowhere

Chapter 91: The Female Customer

The female customer releases her lips from the coffee cup.

Due to the hood, only her mouth is visible, but there’s a soft sheen on her lips.

Perhaps she’s wearing makeup.

Nevertheless, I’ve never seen anyone with such refined manners except for Menas.

Her upbringing seeps through every aspect of her behavior.

Though her speech is hesitant, giving a slightly childish impression, her voice is soft and calm, making it hard to grasp her age.

“Mm… it’s very delicious…”

“Well, I’m glad you like it.”

“Uh, um… excuse me, sir…”

“My name is Bonus.”

“Ah, Mr. Bonus. Um… this… it has sugar in it! It’s very sweet and delicious!”

Excitedly looking up at me, her hood slips, revealing her joy-filled golden eyes meeting mine.

Her skin is beautifully translucent, and while her features aren’t bad by any means, compared to Kuro and Shiro, she seems quite plain.

However, behind her glasses, her eyes, though initially giving off a glamorous and soft impression, also convey a sense of intellect.

With her hesitant speech and these mysterious eyes, she gives off a disjointed impression.

She’s a woman with various conflicting impressions.

I want to delve a little deeper into conversation with her.

She might be unexpectedly interesting.

Normally, I would have thought so straightforwardly.

But right now, that’s not where my mind is.

She knew about sugar――.

Furthermore, she accurately guessed that it was included in the chocolate.

Of course, many customers have been surprised and delighted by the sweetness and taste of chocolate before.

But it’s the first time someone has pointed out the existence of sugar.

Perhaps Menas noticed it too.

After all, I learned the word “sugar” from Menas himself.

And yet, she claimed that she had never tasted sugar itself.

Menas is an experienced merchant.

To her, it seems perfectly natural that this customer knows.

Even something as rare in Savoia as sugar may not be beyond her reach…

In other words, she is someone who can truly understand the true value of this product.

Without even reflecting on the history of sugar and chocolate in the world I once lived in, depending on her behavior from now on, we could easily meet our downfall.

Of course, it’s just a possibility… but it feels terrifying.

There’s one more thing that bothers me.

It’s the fact that she’s clearly wearing glasses.

Moreover, they have finely polished, transparent lenses.

The simple silver frame is oval-shaped, but upon closer inspection, it has intricate designs, and combined with her fair skin, it’s a delicate and beautiful pair of glasses.

Making these would be quite difficult.

There would be a lot of underlying technology.

And this is not something that would have been developed recently.

It’s a form of glasses that could be said to be familiar to many people, acquired over many years of use.

But――, I had never even seen window glass in Savoia.

I hadn’t even thought that there was transparent glass.

It seems I didn’t quite understand the meaning of living in this world on the frontier.

It’s certainly a world with limited means of transportation.

If you cross one country or one continent, it’s not strange to have a gap of several decades, or even hundreds of years, in various aspects.

Moreover, Savoia is a frontier.

In other words, I still know very little about this world.

Thinking about it, it feels a little terrifying…

“What… is wrong?”

“Oh, um, if you’d like, would you also like to taste this? I’m thinking of selling it for regular customers next time――”

“Oh, yes please! Oh my, it has a scent of orange. Oh, um, can I eat it?”

“Of course. Here you go.”

Terrifying, but… well, it’s too late now.

I was prepared for any of these possibilities to some extent.

Especially regarding sugar, I thought it was only a matter of time.

Continuing to hold onto secrets and desperately seeking wealth and power feels suffocating.

After all, this place is a world where life is as light as a feather.

No matter how hard you try to obtain something like money or power, something as tangible as that can be overturned in an instant.

“Mm-mm! Mm-fu~!”

The female customer loosens her lips with a look of extreme happiness, making strange noises while twisting her body oddly.

It seems ridiculous for me to be seriously troubled like this…

Following Hajiramu’s advice, I’ve included the orange peel in this batch of orange chocolate.

The refreshing scent of orange has become quite strong, resulting in a very fruity flavor.

“Ah… the bitterness of this chocolate, combined with the acidity and fragrance of the orange, creates such a wonderful sensation. I can’t quite express this feeling…”

“I know, right? It’s delicious, but it’s more than that! It feels so complex, like it’s tickling your brain directly, you know?”

“Oscar’s description isn’t helping me understand any better.”

“Hehe. Oh, that’s an interesting expression!”

“Well, I’m glad you’re enjoying it.”

For now, this female customer seems to be genuinely enjoying both the chocolate and the coffee.

I don’t know who she really is, but I hope she’ll remain a good customer without causing any trouble.

“Then, may I reserve some boxed chocolates for you, even though they’re a bit pricey?”

“Of course! I want to buy as many as I can!”

“Alright, I’ll prepare them for you… may I have your name?”

“Ah, uh, uh, Lau…I mean Ulara…”

“Miss Ulara. Actually, since I can’t make too many of these, it’s limited to one box per person…”

“I-I see… I’m sorry for asking… please forgive me.”

She said that with a slightly drooped shoulder, but when she drank Elizabeth’s goat milk coffee, her face lit up again.

Although I managed to get her name, it’s obviously a fake one.

I wonder what position she’s in that requires her to use a fake name…

However, there’s no doubt that she’s a kind person.

Even when I subtly tested her, there was no sign of her trying to push her own wishes.

With this attitude, we can get along normally.

“Miss Ulara, that robe you’re wearing is very beautiful~.”

“Huh? Oh, this? Y-yes, I really like the color and texture of it. But, um, the clothing worn by the onis is also very nice!”

“Hehe, I recently had Bonus make them for us. Oh, I’m Gisella. Nice to meet you.”

“I’m Shiro.”

“Miss Gisella and Miss Shiro, I’m pleased to meet you.”

By the way, Gisella’s everyday wear was also made by Thomas and the others.

However, only the casual wear is completed, so it’s not particularly flashy.

It’s a simple outfit consisting of a gray sleeveless shirt, shorts, and a robe.

It’s almost the same design as Shiro’s, but the robe is trimmed with blue and green fabric to match their eye colors.

Of course, the quality is several notches below what Ulara is wearing.

But the clothes made to fit their well-developed bodies seem very comfortable, bringing out a healthy charm.

What’s interesting is that despite wearing similar clothes, both Shiro and Gisella have surprisingly distinctive personalities.

While Gisella doesn’t wear the robe sleeves and her sleeveless shirt is so short that her navel is visible, her neckline is also wide open.

She says it’s for easier blacksmithing, but her chest seems to attract too much attention from the customers.

Despite being aware of this, Gisella wears it without much concern, looking happy.

Shiro, on the other hand, wears the robe with sleeves properly, but due to her tall stature, the ample robe gives off quite an imposing aura.

And the healthy tan legs peeking out from the deeper slits designed to enhance mobility are quite captivating.

“What’s wrong?”

“I was despairing because our waist positions are so different.”

“Because I’m an oni, you know…”

“Both Shiro-san and Gisella-san are very beautiful. I’ve never seen onis before, but I never imagined they would be such wonderful people. It’s so different from the stories I heard…”

“Haha, maybe the stories were right after all. It’s weird to say this about ourselves, but I think both Shiro and I are quite peculiar as onis.”

“Oh my! Then I’m even happier to have met both of you!”

At first, Ulara seemed quite flustered, but now she’s speaking in a much more relaxed manner.

This should be fine if left alone.

Gisella may seem carefree, but she actually has a keen observational skill when it comes to human relationships.

It’s reassuring to be able to leave the situation to her at times like this.

She manages to avoid trouble with the regular customers around and leads the conversation smoothly.

“Hello, Bonus-san.”

“Kuro is as cute as ever~”

“Gyau~!”

“Hello, Menas, Edda. Well then, excuse me, Miss Ulara. I plan to bring the chocolate the day after tomorrow, so please come again.”

“Ah, uh, yes. Thank you very much!”

“Oh, are you going to sell those boxed chocolates again!?”

“Yeah, that’s right. I’ll reserve some for Menas and Edda too.”

“Yay!”

“Thank you as always, Bonus-san.”

Actually, since then, Menas and the others have been showing up at the stall every day.

They seem to be familiar with the regular customers, chatting and relaxing while drinking coffee.

Surprisingly, they’re immensely popular among the older men, who approach them in various ways.

Edda usually talks to Kuro as soon as she comes here.

And she always tries to teach her various things.

Lately, she’s been experimenting with different hairstyles, dramatically increasing Kuro’s hairstyle variations.

She mostly talks to Melanie, and recently, the second daughter of the tailor, Mary, has joined them as well.

Edda seems to be surprisingly interested in fashion, and the three of them often get excited talking about such topics.

Today, it seems relatively busy with many customers. Seeing this, Menas and Edda moved to their seats earlier without lingering on greetings.

It’s already packed…

Edda seems to be talking to Ulara right away.

Ulara is behaving suspiciously again after being suddenly approached, but Gisella seems to be smoothly connecting the conversation.

Oscar, Menas, and the elderly regulars are gathered around the fabric shop owner.

Judging by the occasional laughter, they might be sharing stories of their youth.

“Hey, Kuro~”

“Gyau?”

“I never thought our little business venture would turn out like this, huh?”

“Gugyau~”

“Well, I didn’t mind idly waiting for customers with just Kuro, but this isn’t bad either.”

“Gyau gyau~!”

With the same cheerful demeanor as when we first set up the stall, Kuro smiles at me.

As for me… I intend to continue living with Kuro and the others in our hideout, even unto death.

And as long as I continue to live in the hideout, my connection with Savoia will inevitably be lifelong.

That’s why I want to intertwine more deeply with Savoia alongside the Bonus Company.

That’s probably the primary purpose of me opening this shop.

I want to cherish the scenes like the one before me now.

“But, I’m a little worried about Mil’s condition… Should we forcibly take her back to the hideout and give her a vacation?”

“I think that’s a good idea too.”

Gisella, who had returned unnoticed, says so.

We see Mil every morning, but each time her expression gets darker and she seems to be in more pain.

It’s even worse that she earnestly claims she’s fine.

“Hey… how about we kidnap Mil on our way back today?”

“Hahaha, that’s a good idea~! Let’s prepare a big bag!”

“Gugyau~?”